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Science for KidsEnergy and Fusion

Contents

Energy has many faces 2 Experiment:Howtomakeanenergydrink

Where does energy come from? 4 Experiment:HowtoproduceenergyAtoms – Unknown and yet everywhere 6 Experiment:HowtobuildyourownmodelatomMagnetism – A mysterious force 8 Experiment:Howtobuildyourownmagnet

Electricity generated by fusion power 10 Experiment:HowtofusewaterdropletsCheck your findings 12 AlltheexplanationsforyourexperimentsGlossary 13 Interested in science? 16 The “kidsbits” programme 17 Imprint 18

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Allow me to introduce myself? My name is Solina. I‘m sure

my name, along with my round body, have already given me away: Yes, I am the sun, one of many stars. I am over four bil-lions years old and I like to ask tricky questions. I know a lot about energy because I produce it myself in my hot tummy. The scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics are trying to produce energy in the same way as I do. The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Phys-ics is a very complicated name, you can just say “IPP” for short. Energy is an extremely exciting topic. I would like to tell you all about it and about power plants as well as about the smallest par-ticles and atoms. And what fusion is all about and … but wait! There I go again: Sorry, my fault, I am much too impatient! If you‘re interested, this bro-chure contains a number of experiments you can have a go at. We‘ll have a lot of fun! I promise!

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I am the most important source of energy for all of you down on planet earth! I may be 150 million

kilometres away from you, but my rays put you in good spirits, help plants to grow

and produce electricity in solar power plants. I am multi-talented!

Energy has many faces

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Experiment:Energy drink

What will you need?•Beakerorjarwithascrewlid•1/4lmilk•1smallbanana•1teaspoonoflemonjuice•Sugar,totaste•Plateandfork

How to make it?Peelthebanana,cutitinpiecesanduseaforktomashitonaplate,addlemonjuiceandmilk.Then,pourthebananamixtureintoajarora

beaker,closeittightlyandshakeitvigorously.Youcouldeventrysingingyourfavouritesongwhilstshaking!

Theenergydrinkshouldlookprettyfoamy.Ifitisnotsweetenough,addalittlesugarandshakeitagain.

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Whatisenergyactually?Alldaylongyouare

absorbingandconsumingenergyinvariousdifferentways.Energyisavailableinmanydifferentforms:Drinkingafruity,sweetbananashakewillgiveyoutheenergyyourbodyneedstoplayortoread.Feelinghungrytellsyouthatyouneedtostockuponenergyagain.Itisnotpossibletolivewithoutenergy.Energydoesnotvanish,itisjustconvertedintoanotherform.Forexample,thecurrentthatflowsintoanelectricbulbisconverted

intolightenergy.Butpartofthisenergyisusedupbecausethebulbisalsoheated,andthiscannotbemadeintolight.Theseconversionprocesseshavelimits,theenergyinpetrol

canbeconvertedtomakeacarmove,butthereisnowayofconvertingthiskineticenergybackintonaturalgas!It‘sactuallyquitesimple,isn‘tit?

Ourearthisinhabitedbyseventhousandmillionpeople.One-fifthofthosestillhavetodowithoutelec-tricity.Canyouimaginealifewithoutit?Everybodyneedselectriclight,afridgeorwantstowatchTV.Asthenumberofpeopleonthisplanetissteadilyincreasingfromyeartoyear,itisobviousthatenergyrequirementsarealsorising.

Give reasons why you think sugar is so important?

Takealookonpage12toseewhatotherpeoplehavefoundout.

Energy has many faces

What did you observe?

Why do you think this happens?

We need to look for new energy sources! The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics is setting a good example and working on a new energy source for your future. Using me as their inspiration!

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Experiment:How to produce energy

What do you need?•1balloon•Colouredtissuepaper•Grainsofrice

How do you do it?Blowuptheballoonandtieaknotinit.

Tearthetissuepaperintotinypiecesandspreadthemalloverthetable.

Rubtheballoonagainstyourheadoryourclothes.

Holdtheballoonoverthepiecesofpaper.

Testtheexperimentbyrubbingagainstdifferentmaterials–jumper,shirt,t-shirt–andwatchwhathappens!

Where does energy come from?

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Howdoeselectricitygetintothesocket?Electricityis

producedinpowerstationsandtransportedtothecitiesusinglongpowercables.Itisthendistributedtothehousesbytransformerstationsandjunctionboxes.Nexttimeyougoforawalk,seeifyoucanspotthejunctionboxesinyourstreet!Therearemanywaysofproduc-ingelectricityand“loading”itintothepowersupplynetwork,aspowerplantoperatorssay.MorethanhalfoftheelectricityproducedinGermany,forexam-ple,iscreatedusingcoalandnaturalgas.Thesehigh-energymaterialsareburnedandtheheatthatisreleasedisconvertedintoelectricity.Alargeamountoftheadditionalelectricityrequiredisproducedfromuraniuminnuclearpowerplants.Ittookmillionsofyearstoformourcoal,oilandnaturalgasresources.Ifwemeasurethisprocessagainstthelengthofahumanlifetime,itwouldtaketoolongtoproducethem

again–andthisiswhywecallthem“nonrenewable”energysources.Therenewablesourcesofenergyinclude:Biomass–whichisproducedbyusingplantsthatgrowagainquickly–aswellassun,windandwater.Sunlightdrivessolarpowerplants,thewindpowerswindmillsandthemovementofwatercanalsobeusedtopro-duceelectricity.

Expertsarearguingaboutwhetherthecoal,oilandgasresourceswillhavebeenconsumedwithin20,50or100years.Buttheactualmomentisnotreallythatimportant.Scientistsneedtofindnewsourcesofenergybeforetheonesweusetodayrunoutcompletely.

Takealookonpage12toseewhatotherpeoplehavefoundout.

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Where does energy come from?

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Experiment:Building a model atom

What do you need?•50cmstiffwire•1piecemodellingclay•1plate•1forkorastick•6tablespoonsofsoapbubblesolutionormix3tablespoonsofthickwashing-upliquidwith3tablespoonsofwater

What do you have to do?Bendthewireandmakealassoshape.Thediameterofthelassoshouldbesmallerthantheplateyouareusing.Makeasmallballusingthemodellingclay.Thiswillrepre-sentthe“atomicnucleus”.Pourthesoapbubblesolutionontotheplateandstiritwiththefork.Thenplacethe“atomicnucleus”inthemiddleoftheplate.

Placethewirelassoaroundthe“atomicnucleus”anddipitintothesoapbubblesolution,agitateitandliftthewire.Asoapbubblewillappearoverthe“atomicnucleus”.

You cannot see an individual atom with the naked eye. These tiny things I have in my tummy could be used to provide energy for the next five billion years. And because I use atom nuclei to produce energy we call it “nuclear energy”.

Atoms – Unknown and yet everywhere

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Foralongperiodoftime,peoplebelievedthatour

entiresurroundingsweremadeoftheelementsearth,fire,waterandair.Nowadays,weknowthattinybuildingblocksknownasatoms,formeverythingthatisaroundus:Thesoilandthestones,animals,plantsandhumanbeings,planetsandstars.Youcanimagineanatombythinkingofapeach:Ithasastone,anucleus–theatomicnucleus.Andthepeelrepresentsthesurfaceonwhichtheelec-tronsmove.Thesunisalsomadeupofatoms.Insidethesun,an

incredibleheatof15milliondegreescanbefound;thatisthenumber15plussixzeros!Akitchenovenonlymanages300degrees!Atthattemperature,theatomsinthesuntakeofftheir“peachmantle”madeofelectrons.Whenthishappens,scientistscallita“plasma”.Atomicnucleimoveveryquicklywithinaplasmaandindoingso,collideatrandom.Sometimestheymeltandcreateanewandbiggernucleus.Duringthismeltingprocess–orfusion–anenormousamountofenergyisreleased.Thisisthewaythesunhasbeenproduc-ingenergyfor4.5billionyears.

IPPwantstoimitatethesunandproduceenergyusingcertainatoms.Asunpowerplantonearth!

Atomsconsist,aboveall,ofalotofemptiness.Ifanatomnucleuswerethesizeofatennisball,theelectronswouldbemovingabouttwokilometresaway!Andin-betweenthetwo–thereisnothing!

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Atoms – Unknown and yet everywhere

Ahydrogenatom

Takealookonpage12toseewhatotherpeoplehavefoundout.

What can you see here? Use your imagination!

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Experiment:How to make a magnet

What do you need?•1.5Voltbattery•1metreofcopperwire,about 1mmindiameter•1steelnail,about 10centimetreslongand 2mmthick•Sandpaper•Afewpaperclipsor drawingpins

What do you do? Windthewiretightlyandevenlyaroundthenail60or70times,leavinga10cmlengthofwirefreeatbothends.

Sandpapertheendsofthewireuntilabout1cmisshinyallround.

Touchthetwopolishedendstothe„poles“ofthebatteryandallowthecurrenttoflowthroughthecoil.Nowdiptheendofthenailintothepaperclipsorpins.

Magnetism – A mysterious force

Important:Neverdoanyexperimentsusingelectricityfromthewallsocket!Usebatterieswithlowvoltageonly–uptoabout4.5Volts.

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Imagine a life belt made of invisible magnetic field lines. The hot atomic nuclei and electrons move inside this life belt and cannot escape!

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Magneticforcesaremyste-rious.Youcannotfeel,

hear,smell,ortastethem,norcanyouseethemdirectly.Youcan,however,maketheireffectsvisibleusingironfilings.Withinamagneticfieldironfilingslineupinso-calledmagneticfieldlines.Amagnetalwayshastwoends,thenorthandthesouthpole,andthemagneticfieldlinesradiatefromthese.Metalssuchasiron,cobaltornickelhavemagneticpropertiesandcanbemadeintopermanentmagnets.Magnetismcanalsobeprodu-cedusingelectricity.Themostimportantcomponentofanelec-tromagnetisacoil.Itbasicallyconsistsofasolidcentrewithametalwirewrappedaroundit.Connectingbothendsofthewiretoabatteryallowselectriccurrenttoflowthroughthewire

andproduceamagneticfield.ForitsASDEXUpgradefusionexperiment,IPPneeds16coilsweighingasmuchas112cars!Thecoilsarearrangedinsuchawaythatthemagneticfieldlinesbuildaclosed,ring-likecage.Itisnotjustfilingsthatlinethemselvesupinamagneticfield.Atomnucleiandelectronswithinplasmadothesame.Thisissimplyalawofnature!

Takealookatpage12andseewhatotherpeoplehavediscovered.

Theatomsinthehugesunareheldtogetherbytheirownweight.Tocreateapowerplantonearthoperatinglikethesun,

physicistshavecomeupwithaverycleveridea.Theyusemagneticforcestokeeptheatomstogether.

Magnetism – A mysterious force

What did you see?

Why do you think this happens?

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What did you see?

Experiment:Fusing water droplets

What do you need?• ACDcoveroraCD thatisnolongerneeded• Apumpspraybottletobe filledwithwater• Pencilortoothpick

How do you do it?Pouralittlewaterintothepumpspraybottle.

PuttheCD,withtheshinysidefacingup,ontoawaterproofsurfaceandspraysomewateronit.

HoldtheCDatanangle,dipthetipofyourpencilintooneofthedropletsandpullitacrosstheCDsurfacetothenextdroplet.Continuetothenextdrop,andthenext…

I think there will be fusion power plants one day. How old will you be in 2050?

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Takealookatpage12toseewhatotherpeoplehavediscovered.

Fusion power – How does it work?

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What did you see?

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Thisishowphysicistsimagineafusionpower

plant:Electromagnetsarelinedupinavesselandareswitchedon.Themagneticfieldcageformsinsidethevessel.Thevesselisfilledwithatomswhichareheatedtohundredmillionsdegrees:Aplasmaisgenerated.Theatomnucleiandelectronsnowmoveveryquickly,they

collide,somenucleifuseandproducethermalenergywhichisconvertedintoelectricity.Fusionpowerisamazing!Theenergycontentofasinglegramoffusionfuelisthesameasanentirefreightwaggonfullofcoal!TheJETexperimentbelongingtoaresearchinstituteinEng-

landsucceededinproducingfusionpower–whatagreatachievement!Butforarealpowerplant,theamountofenergywonmustbehigher.Thisiswhyresearchersacrosstheworldareworkingonlotsofexperimentsinordertofindoutmoreaboutatoms,plasmaandfusion.

PhysicistsatIPPareworkingontheirASDEXUpgradeexperi-mentinGarchingandjusthavebuiltanewoneinGreifswald,theWendelstein7-X.By2050weshouldhavelearnedenoughfromtheseexperimentstohelpustobuildapowerplantcapableofusingfusionenergytoprovidebigcitieswithpower.

electromagnets

plasma

Fusion power – How does it work?

TheyhavealreadystartedworkonITER,theworld‘slargestfusionexperiment,intheSouthofFrance.Canyoufindthelittlemanonthispicture?Lookhowsmallheiscomparedtothemachineitself!Now,youcanimaginehowbigafusionpowerplantwillneedtobe.

Wendelstein7-X

PlasmaintheASDEXUpgradedevice

Page2Energy drinkWhy is sugar important?

Thesugaryouadded,alongwiththebananafructose,quicklyprovidesyourbodywithnewenergysothatyouwillfeelalertandstrongenoughtocarryoutthenextexperiments.

Page4Producing energy What did you notice?

Aninvisibleforceallowstheballoontoattractthepiecesoftissuepaperandthegrainsofrice.Iftheweatherisparticularlydry,youmayevenseethegrainsofricedance!

Why does this happen?

Yourubbedelectronsawayfromtheoutershellsoftheatoms.Thiscreatesachargesepara-tionandtheballoonattractstheshredsofpaperasaresult.Theharderorlongeryourub,thebetterthepaperstickstothebal-loonandthegrainsofricedanceforyou!

Further experiments ...

Tryrubbingaplasticruleroranempty,dryplasticbottleinsteadofaballoon.

Page6Building a model atomWhat did you see?

Use your imagination!

Thesoapbubbleisahalf-sphereshapegleamingoveryourhand-made“atomnucleus”.Squintyoureyesandimaginehowtheelectron“rushes”overthesur-faceoftheball.

Page8Building a magnetWhat did you see?

Thepaperclipsordrawingpinsareattractedaslongasthecurrentflows.Cutoffelectricityandtheeffectdecreases.

Why does this happen?

Thecoiledwireallowselectricitytoflowandcreatesamagneticfieldwithinthenail.Themorethewireiscoiled,thestrongerthemagneticfieldbecomes.

Page10Fusion of water dropsWhat did you see?

Therounddropsfusetocreatealargerdrop.Youcannolongeridentifythetwooriginaldrops,orhowevermanydropsyoustartedwith.

Further experiments …

“Oildrop”fusion:Oildropsfoundonthesurfaceofasouporinasaladdressingcanbefusedbyusingaspoontoconnectthem.

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Here you will find explanations for your experiments

Check your findings

Definitions – in a nutshellAtomandAtomnucleus

Electromagnets

Electrons

Energy

(Non)renewableenergy

Experiment

Everythingaroundus–plantsandanimals,stones,planets,sand,people–consistoftinyelementsknownasatoms.Anatomismadeofanucleusandoneormanyelectrons.

Wecanproducemagnetismwithelectricity.Acoilplaysthemostimportantpartofanelectromagnet.Abasiccoilconsistsofabodyandametalwirewhichiscoiledaroundit.Ifbothendsofthewirearethenconnectedtoabattery,thecurrentflowsthroughthewireandcreatesamagneticfield.

Verytinyparticlescalledelectronscirclearoundtheatomnuclei.Asimilarpattern,althoughmuchlarger,canbeseenintheuniverse:theplanetscirclingaroundthesun.

Therearemanyformsofenergy.Yourbodytakesitsenergyfromthefoodyoueatandtransformsitintomovementandwarmth.Energydoesnotjustdisappear,butistransformedintosomethingelse.Forexample,electricityflowingthroughabulbisconvertedintolightenergyandheat.

Sun,windandwatercannotbeusedup.Biomasscanbeproducedquickly.Thisiswhythesearereferredtoasrenewableenergysources.Gas,coalandoilreserveswhichareformedoverthecourseofmillionsofyearsarenon-renewableenergysourcesandarealsocalled“fossilfuels”.

Latin experimentum“trial,proof,checking,test”.Wheneveryouaretestingsomethinginordertofindouthowitworks,youareconductinganexperiment.

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Definitions – in a nutshellAnenormousamountofenergyisreleasedwhenatomnucleimelt,thisprocessiscalledfusion.Thisishowthesunhasbeenproducingenergyfor4.5billionofyears.

IPPisactuallytheMaxPlanckInstituteforPlasmaPhysicsandisworkingonplasmaphysicsandfusionresearch.

Thelargestinternationalfusionexperimentintheworld,ITER,iscurrentlybeingbuiltintheSouthofFrance.

Wetalkabout“nuclearenergy”whenwerefertoenergythatoriginatesfromthefissionorfusionofatomnuclei.

Inapowerplant,substanceslikecoalareburnedinordertogenerateheatandelectricity.

Athingthatattractsorrepelssomethingiscalledamagnet.Magneticforcescanbefoundinnature.Allformsofmagnetismcomefromelectriccharges.Magneticforcesaretobefoundalongso-calledmagneticfieldlineswhenfineironfilingslineupinmagneticfields.

Onemillion,asanumber,isa1with6zerosbehindit,soitiswritten1,000,000.Abillionisthousandtimesmore,soitisa1withninezeros:1,000,000,000.

Fusion

IPP

ITER

Nuclearenergy

Powerplant

Magnet,Magneticfield,Magneticfieldlines

MillionandBillion

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Plasmaisagaseousmedium.Atomnucleiandelectronsmoveseparately.Youcanseeplasmainnature,asaboltoflightning,athomeinafluorescentlighttubeorinenergy-savinglightbulbs.Plasmaphysicsinvestigatesthebehaviourofthatgas.

Solarcollectorsusesunlighttoproduceelectricityandwarmth.

Asanenergysupplier,thesunisveryimportantfortheearth.Itisthesunwhichmakesitpossiblefortheplanettohaveaweathersystemandaclimate.Andwithoutthesuntherewouldbenolife.Alotofenergyisrequiredtodoallthisandthisenergyisproducedinsidethesunbynuclearfusion.

Theyarepartofpowerplantsandensurethedistributionofelectricityinthecities,tohomesandtothepowersocket.…workinmanyfields,forexampleinbiology,history,medicalscience,astronomy(scienceofthestars),orphysics.Physicistsanalysenaturalactivitiesandlaws.

PlasmaandPlasmaphysics

Solarcollectors

Sun

TransformerstationandJunctionbox

Scientists

Definitions – in a nutshell

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Interested in science?

Ifyouwouldliketoregisteryourclassoragroupofchildren,pleasetakealookatwww.kontakt.kidsbits.info

tofindoutallyouneedtoknow.AbovewebsitesareonlyavailableinGermanandvisitstotheIPPareconductedinGermantoo.

Areyourchildreninter-estedinscience?The

MaxPlanckInstitute’s“kids-bits”programmeinGarchingisoffering“LivingScience”forchildrenofdifferentages.Severalactivitiesaredesignedespeciallyforchildrenaged3to13.Alloftheprogramshaveonethingincommon,theymakeapointofgettingthechildrentojoininandaskquestions.FromJanuarytoJuly,experiencedcolleaguesfromourinstituteareavailableatIPPtohostnurseryschools,preschoolsandprimaryschools.Youwillneedtosetasideabouttwohoursfortheactiv-itysession.Thiswillinvolvetalkingtothechildrenandcar-ryingoutexperimentswhichwillgivethemanexcitingandinterestinginsightintofusionresearch.

For parents and teachers

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The“kidsbits”programmein2005receivedfinancial

supportfromPallasAthene,theEuropean“AmbassadorsforWomenandScience”project.MaxPlanckInstituteforPlasmaPhysicsregardthisasrecognitionoftheiractivitiesinpromotingtheyounggeneration.Thisfundingalsoservedtoproducetheverybrochureyouarenowreading.

Thankyouverymuchtoallofthesmallandlargescientistsfortheirtirelessproofreadingefforts,theirsuggestionsandpatientphotosessions!

Contact: in Garching:

Max-Planck-InstitutfürPlasmaphysikBoltzmannstraße285748Garching

Phone:+49(0)893299-2233

Fax:+49(0)893299-2622

in Greifswald:

Max-Planck-InstitutfürPlasmaphysikTeilinstitutGreifswaldWendelsteinstraße117491GreifswaldPhone:+49(0)383488-2614

Fax:+49(0)383488-2009

The “kidsbits” programme

www.ipp.mpg.de/visitors

Ifyouwouldliketoregisteryourclassoragroupofchildren,pleasetakealookatwww.kontakt.kidsbits.info

tofindoutallyouneedtoknow.AbovewebsitesareonlyavailableinGermanandvisitstotheIPPareconductedinGermantoo.

Come and visit IPP – at Garching or Greifswald: Weinviteallinterestedadults,asindividualsorgroups,tocomeandvisitourinstitute.Fusionresearchwillbeintroducedinacomprehensiblewayandyou

willbeabletofindoutabouttheachievementsandpossibilities.VisitGarchingandGreifswaldtodiscoverwhatfusionexperi-mentsareallabout!

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Editor:Max-Planck-InstitutfürPlasmaphysik(IPP)Boltzmannstraße285748GarchingbeiMünchen

Illustrations:Page3Alexandra,age10Page4Gabriel,age9Page5Ricarda,age10Page8Alexandra,age10Page9Hannah,age7Photos:IPP

Conceptandeditorialwork:Dr.PetraNieckchenIrisEcklUteSchneider-Maxon

Layoutandillustration:SwantjeSchmidt,Germering

Englishtextversion:AlineDürmaier

2ndedition,2015

ISBN978-3-00-027132-8

Imprint